Brother Printer - Not Printing Wireless

Hello Asher Gabbay,

Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We are happy to help you!

We understand that one of your printers is having an issue with printing wirelessly.

We have provided you with a few helpful articles:

Solve printing problems on Mac

Update printer software on Mac

Add a printer to your Wi-Fi network in AirPort Utility on Mac

We hope this finds you well!

Cheers!

Hi,

Just a few things to check/try.

First of all, this topic appears in the High Sierra section of the communities, but macOS 11.4 is in your profile... Please confirm computer model and operating system.

As you know, the MFC-L2750DW is a model supporting the driverless AirPrint technology (About AirPrint - Apple Support), providing that the printer and the computer are connected to the same network (Wi-Fi router).

I assume that you are using a router (infrastructure mode).

You mentioned CUPS as well; which driver version (https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloadtop.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfcl2750dw_us_eu_as)?

For a test, do you have access to an iPhone/iPad? If so, would the device recognise the MFC-L2750DW as an available AirPrint printer? Is it possible to print from the iPhone/iPad?

Could it be a problem with the router and Bonjour/mDNS? Any change if you Add a network printer by its IP address (Add a printer on Mac - Apple Support)?

Something with dual-band operation (2.4/5 Ghz), if applicable? The printer can only use 2.4 GHz (https://help.brother-usa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/73618/~/compatibility-with-5-ghz%2C-dual-band-wireless-router%2C-or-mesh-networks). On the other hand, printing works with a PC...

One can always try the following procedure: Power off the router, the printer, the computer, and all other devices. Wait two to three minutes. Power on the router. Wait two to three minutes. Power on the printer. Wait another minute or two. Power on the computer. Finally, power on all other devices.

Hello again,

Thank you for your report. No immediate idea. Just one thought. There is a 12/25/2020 firmware note at https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloadlist.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfcl2750dw_us_eu_as&os=10065. Has the printer firmware been updated to the latest possible version?

Thank you. AirPrint should be enabled by default on this printer. Would there be a remote possibility that AirPrint has been disabled? If so, see the following link about how to enable AirPrint via a web browser.

https://support.brother.com/g/s/id/htmldoc/mfc/cv_mfcl2750dw/use/html/GUID-8D6ABADE-59BD-403F-B42F-155BFF05BFB4_311.html

Could you again check the router settings in order to determine whether Bonjour/mDNS and IPP are allowed/enabled?

Also, any chance that you have another (spare/old) router that could be temporarily used for a test?

If it helps, in System Report?Printers they're both listed with a URL like this...

Brother MFC-J497DW:

 Status: Idle

 Print Server: Local

 Driver Version: 4.0.28

 Default: Yes

 System Printer Sharing: Yes

 Shared: Yes

 URI: dnssd://Brother%20MFC-J497DW._ipp._tcp.local./?uuid=e3248000-80ce-11db-8000-105bad9cdd95

 PPD: Brother MFC-J497DW CUPS

 PPD File Version: 4.0.28

 PostScript Version: (3010.106) 3

 CUPS Version: 2.2.9 (cups-462.16)

 Scanning support: Yes

 Scanning app: /System/Library/Image Capture/Devices/AirScanScanner.app

Brother MFC-J497DW 2:

 Status: Idle

 Print Server: Local

 Driver Version: 2.0

 Default: No

 System Printer Sharing: Yes

 Shared: Yes

 URI: dnssd://Brother%20MFC-J497DW._ipp._tcp.local./?uuid=e3248000-80ce-11db-8000-105bad9cdd95

 PPD: Brother MFC-J497DW-AirPrint

 PPD File Version: 2.0

 PostScript Version: (3010.000) 0

 CUPS Version: 2.2.9 (cups-462.16)

 Scanning support: Yes

 Scanning app: /System/Library/Image Capture/Devices/AirScanScanner.app

So maybe setting up as an IP Printer?

>I couldn't find Bonjour/mDNS and IPP settings on my ASUS AC-5300 router. Do you know where I can find them?

Hi Asher,

Sorry, no access to that router, and I cannot find anything in the user guide. Most modern routers should work with Bonjour, though.

This is all strange. I am in no way convinced that the problem (or "challenge", as it is called today) has something to do with Bonjour/mDNS. On the other hand, your iPhone was not able to print. The Mac is not able to print wirelessly (neither via AirPrint nor CUPS), with the iPrint & Scan app exception.

It would be good if you could find another router for a comparison. This router does not even have to be connected to the Internet; what we are interested in is the LAN side. It could (and perhaps should) be a very simple model for the test. If you do not have a spare router, perhaps an old one could be found for a few dollars in a thrift shop.

Hi BDAqua,

Yes, I am confused. It is not possible to print directly via AirPrint, but it can be done via the iPrint&Scan app. Is this app not just Brother's interpretation/conversion of AirPrint information from the computer? The app, apparently, can be used with Brother printers that do not support AirPrint. Writing this makes me even more confused. How does the app work? Most importantly, how and why is the app getting through to the printer, when a "normal" AirPrint or other Wi-Fi connection does not?

On mine AirPrint using iPrint & Scan indeed only prints PDFs & JPGs.

URI: dnssd://Brother%20MFC-J497DW._ipp._tcp.local./?uuid=e3248000-80ce-11db-8000-105bad9cdd95

 PPD: Brother MFC-J497DW CUPS

 URI: dnssd://Brother%20MFC-J497DW._ipp._tcp.local./?uuid=e3248000-80ce-11db-8000-105bad9cdd95

 PPD: Brother MFC-J497DW-AirPrint

So they use the same URL!?

I wonder if a restart is needed after setting up the CUPS version? Maybe a Safe Boot even!?

BTW, Xerox has a white paper Enabling Apple® AirPrint®with Your Xerox®AltaLink®Multifunction Printer which also provides general technical information about how AirPrint works, including details about Bonjour/mDNS.

https://www.office.xerox.com/latest/XOGWP-18U.PDF

Hello again Asher,

Yes, this appears to be a mystery. For example, why is printing from the iPhone not working? The iPhone is connected to the printer through the router only. The Mac is not involved here. You mentioned that power cycling (the order can be important; see my first message) had been tested.

I have a similar issue but with a weird twist.

We have the same printer in our household. It prints fine with 2 MacBooks, 1 iPhone and 1 WinOS laptop through WiFi. However, it doesn't always work from my ethernet-, or WiFi-, connected desktop iMac. The Print Queue dialogue says "Printing – Connected to printer", or "Processing page 1", but nothing happens for quite a while. Then the job either prints, or not, and the job disappears from the Print Queue. 

The firmware is up-to-date on the printer. I am using High Sierra [10.13.6] on the iMac, older versions on the 2 MacBooks, and IOS 12.5.4 on the iPhone.


Any help or insight is much appreciated.